"Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 28:18)

In the short period of time since assuming my responsibilities as president on January 1, I have spent considerable time observing this place called Greenville College and setting some initial goals for our work together.

The faculty here are hard-working, multi-talented, loyal, and caring. In fact, we have been recognized by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities for our caring faculty. That's the good news. On the other hand, as I continue to meet with faculty and get to know them, I sense that they are tired; and in some cases, discouraged or self-doubting.

Our facilities are inconsistent. Depending on where you look, they are both beautiful and embarrassing. Some facilities have been well maintained, but years of deferred maintenance have left some other older buildings in need of immediate attention. It is not just a matter of aesthetics; in some cases the issue is safety.

Our challenge is similar to the one faced by the St. Louis region, identified in the Peirce Report and published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch two years ago: "To energize the region, St. Louisans might strive for excellence, take risks, and look to the future instead of the past." I believe that is the approach Greenville College needs to take as well.

Top Three Priorities
Based on what I have seen and heard, my three top priorities as president are to improve the financial condition of the college, sharpen the vision, and build morale.

Under the previous administration, significant steps were taken to shore up the finances, and those efforts have been well documented publicly. The trends look very good. Now it is time to continue those efforts, but more quietly, behind the scenes, while publicly focusing our attention on matters more central to the enterprise of being a college.

Second, we need to sharpen the vision for what Christian higher education is all about (see Vision Statement). I'm talking about character and service, helping students discover not only what they should do but who they should be.

Third, we need to build morale, to revitalize the energy and self-confidence of our people. Our most valuable assets are our faculty and staff, and we cannot afford to neglect these resources.

That is a very brief overview of my top three priorities. Now for the details.

Improve Finances
We are changing some of the business processes of the college. Two new administrative positions have been created, a controller and a human resources coordinator. Over the years, our auditors have repeatedly identified the need for a controller to manage the flow of money in and out of the many college accounts. And a human resources coordinator is an obvious need for an organization the size of Greenville College, which has more than 200 employees.

We are in the process of upgrading our business-related computer software to a new Quodata system that will give multiple departments access to the same database, in order to increase the efficiency of information management. We have also completed an audit of campus computers and computer-based equipment for Y2K compatibility.

The budget process has been accelerated so that a completed budget for the 1999-2000 school year will be presented to the Board of Trustees in May. The highest priorities reflected in the new budget will be faculty salaries (5.8 percent increase planned) and a new bond issue aimed chiefly at improvements to facilities and dramatic technology upgrades.

We are continuing our commitment to the tuition price freeze for one more year. Enrollment trends are exciting; we are up 50 students this year over last (20 above even our budgeted projections!). And applications for next year are running 160 or more ahead of last year’s pace. Enrollment projections for next year are forcing us to look seriously at significant new housing options even now. Adult enrollment in the GOAL Program continues to be strong, pushing total student enrollment (traditional, GOAL, and LAMP) to 1,126 in 1999, the highest in the history of the college.

In fund-raising, at the end of March we were slightly ahead of last year's pace in unrestricted gifts to the Annual Fund for Educational Excellence. On the other hand, the $918,796 contributed as of March 31 leaves us about $118,000 behind the pace we have projected we will need to meet our goal of $1.7 million. Our goal for the month of June is our highest for the year, so we pray for continued strong support from our alumni and friends especially during the next few weeks.

Sharpen Vision
It is the president's responsibility to set the vision for the college. We have some big issues to consider. Should we focus on liberal arts or professional preparation? Should we launch new graduate-level programs? How do we assess the quality of the "product"? Should we continue to emphasize the traditional residential model or begin to shift to off-site or distance-learning approaches? What age of students should we focus on, traditional or adult? Should we be low-priced, high-priced, or somewhere in between?

These are essentially marketing issues, but they also get right to the heart of the questions of mission and vision. I believe our focus should be on traditional, undergraduate, residential, Christ-centered, liberal arts education.

We will soon launch a New Millennium Commission to review strategic goals for the next five years and revise the strategic management process.

We are working hard to integrate more fully our entire curriculum and co-curriculum. Faculty groups are currently revising the core curriculum and general education requirements. It is exciting to anticipate what might be called "bookend" courses at the beginning and end of the four-year curriculum designed to distinguish our liberal arts approach from others which are more narrowly vocational. We are also looking with renewed emphasis on our chapel program as our largest classroom, as we explore better ways to integrate chapel programming with the curriculum.

Character and service are important components in the development of our students, and new programs will give them opportunities to grow in these areas. For example, the college sponsored Urban Plunge in March. More than 75 students traveled to various locations in St. Louis, MO and East St. Louis, IL for an overnight experience involving community service projects.

We are also exploring the possibility of launching an Urban Learning Center in St. Louis or East St. Louis, where groups of our students would be able to spend extended periods taking classes and interacting with the community. The idea is to offer them a cross-cultural experience that will stretch them, thereby powerfully stimulating their intellectual, social, and moral development.

Build Morale
A college's budget is a reflection of its priorities. Our most valuable assets are our faculty and staff, and we are demonstrating our commitment to our people by proposing an increase in faculty and staff salaries for the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999. We are budgeting for an average faculty raise of 5.8 percent, which will be the highest rate of increase among all of the Free Methodist schools. There will also be staff raises of 5 percent on average, with some adjustments made for equity.

It is important to note that our faculty and staff are not here because of the money. On the other hand, these increases are a tangible way of saying to our employees, "We value you and we appreciate your commitment to Greenville College."

We are also looking at making some significant exciting improvements to our campus this summer. A person's physical environment can affect his or her attitude either positively or negatively. Marketing research has shown that to be true for employees and customers alike—in our case, our faculty, staff, and students. Declining facilities can contribute to declining morale.

Specifically, we have completed a campus-wide facilities audit and this summer will begin work on dormitory safety and upgrades, the installation of a pace-setting wireless campus computer network, substantial renovations in Hogue Hall's first floor foyer and hallways, cafeteria and food service improvements, and a new north entrance to campus called Ganton Circle. All of these projects are either under way or scheduled to begin soon.

Other projects likely for the summer include the paving of the parking lot behind Snyder Hall (currently gravel) and perhaps even an extension and new main entrance to Armington Center.

Finally, there are a number of other worthy projects that we hope we may be able to undertake this summer. These include expansions to the "Quad" (grassing over streets and parking areas surrounding Scott Field), a new rear entrance to Armington, and outdoor lighting around Snyder and Hogue Halls to match the spotlights currently illuminating the library. We would welcome support for these projects. As you can see, taken together, these summer projects will transform our campus in ways we believe will encourage our faculty and continuing students as well as attract new students.

In Focus
If it were possible to focus my vision for Greenville College down to a single sentence, it would be that we pray for the wisdom and resources to provide a Christ-centered education in the liberating arts, for character and service, with the distinctive personal Greenville touch. May God help us make the vision a reality.